The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office forensic examination report states that the pilot of a hot air balloon crash in January that claimed the lives of four persons had high blood levels of the hallucinogenic drug ketamine.
The FAA and NMS Labs toxicology tests revealed that the balloon’s 37-year-old pilot, Cornelius van der Walt, had ketamine levels in his system ranging from 1.1 to 1.2 mg/L. In contrast, the research states that ketamine levels above.02 mg/L are indicative of impaired driving ability in the United Kingdom.
According to the study, Van der Walt did not appear to have a prescription for ketamine, and it was not administered during attempts at resuscitation.
What happened on the day of the Eloy hot air balloon crash?
Van Der Halt was the proprietor of Droplyne, a hot air balloon firm. On the day of the crash, he took twelve other people up with him, and eight of them managed to jump off as planned.
Along with the pilot, the other victims are Atahan Kiliccote, 24, Kaitlynn Bartom, 28, and 28-year-old Chayton Wiescholek.
After the collision, one passenger survived. The 23-year-old Valerie Stutterheim underwent eight procedures after being sent to the hospital in severe condition.
What was impacted in the balloon pilot’s autopsy in Arizona?
According to the toxicology department, ketamine was not given to the pilot and was not given to him after the disaster. The results were extensively covered by regional and national media sources.
On Friday, though, a correction was released in response to data from the Eloy Police Department.
Although hospital and fire department staff did not use ketamine, the medication was in fact given by air ambulance services, according to the amended toxicology section.